Boykin becoming Eagles' big play maker

Monday

ARLINGTON, Texas — If his parents knew then what they know now, they would have named their son Johnny. As in Johnny on the spot.

That’s what Brandon Boykin has become for the NFC East-winning Eagles.

His parents likely had a glimpse of what was to come from their son, because they attended all his football and basketball games as Boykin grew up in Fayetteville, Ga., then attended the University of Georgia. They probably knew early, too. Like the day of the Pee Wee super bowl as a member of the Faye County Sentinels when he scored four touchdowns.

Just like he was for the Sentinels, Boykin has become the Eagles’ big play maker.

“You’ve got to say he’s the player of the year for us on defense,” linebacker Connor Barwin said.

Boykin sealed the Eagles’ 24-22 win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night with an interception of a Kyle Orton pass with 1:49 to play. That allowed the Birds to run out the clock and clinch their first playoff berth since the 2010 season.

It was Boykin’s sixth interception of the season, which tied him for the second highest total in the NFL this year, behind the eight made by Seattle’s Richard Sherman.

After the swipe of Orton’s offering, Boykin’s teammates mobbed him on the field, once Boykin slid to a stop after advancing a few yards following the pick.

“It was happiness,” Boykin said of that moment. “Everybody jumped on top of me. I really just wanted to make sure the offense got back out there to take a knee.”

It was a smart move. And a heckuva play. And Boykin has made more than his share of smart, heady plays this season.

It was Boykin who ended the comeback try by Washington when he intercepted a Robert Griffin III pass in the end zone in the closing minute to seal a 24-16 Eagles victory Nov. 17.

A week earlier in Green Bay, Boykin made his first end zone interception, picking off the Packers’ Scott Tolzien and returned it 76 yards.

Against the Giants on Oct. 6, he snatched away a ball from receiver Victor Cruz in midair during the fourth quarter. The turnover led to an Eagles touchdown in a game in which the Birds scored 14 fourth-quarter points to win 36-21.

In the first of just two starts he has made this year, he forced a fumble in the second quarter of the Eagles’ home opener against the Chargers. He stripped tight end Antonio Gates of the ball at the 2-yard line to prevent a touchdown.

“He’s had a knack for the ball all season long,” Barwin said.

Eagles coach Chip Kelly agrees.

“It seems like it,” Kelly said. “You watch how hard he works in training sessions and his attention to detail and all of those things. It pays off. He made the play in the Redskins game. He made this play (against Dallas). It seems like it comes at a good time.”

The second-year cornerback, who wasn’t drafted until the fourth round (123rd overall), explained his NFC East-clinching pick against the Cowboys.

“I saw (Dallas receiver) Miles Austin cut a fly,” Boykin said. “I knew they were trying to open up that hole in the middle because as soon as you catch it, there’s nobody there and they try to get a lot of yards off of that. I really kind of undercut him at the last second and got my hand in there.”

As any Johnny on the spot would.

“You have to say,” Barwin said, “that was the play of the year on defense for us so far.”

Ed Kracz: 215-345-3069;

email: ekracz@calkins.com; Twitter: @kracze

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.